Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

by Bethany Maines

It’s a new year! And you know what that means? Time for resolutions! Personally, I resolve to stop obsessively watching old episodes of the West Wing. (Actually, I really don’t, but in public we’re going to pretend that I do because it’s embarrassing to obsess over a show that’s over a decade old.) I’m also making the usual one about going to the gym more and eating more vegetables. Which is also my husband’s resolution.  Only he’s far more serious about it than I am.  He’s actually resolving to try eating meat free a couple of days a week. I fully support this idea, but it has kind of put a kink into my regular dinner making plans. I just don’t have a repertoire of vegetarian recipes yet. He’s been contributing some fun new meals and an oil-free hummus recipe that is highly delicious, if slightly over the top in roasted garlic, but we’re still low in the whip-something-up-in-a-pinch vegetarian recipe department. So that will be my 2013 challenge – learn to cook vegetarian.


If that weren’t enough of a challenge I’ve also decided that 2013 is the year that I will be putting out a new series of short stories. I’ll be trying out new characters, self-publishing, and vegetarian cooking all in one year and I don’t mind telling you that I’m a little bit worried about it all. I’ll admit, mostly I’m worried about the cooking. I don’t like mushrooms and every other vegetarian recipe seems to feature mushrooms, but the self-publishing and new characters are also weighing a bit on my mind. I really don’t want to starve while in the midst of a new creative endeavor. Not that I will starve. I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough fat reserves that I can subsist until at least February before I actually start to starve, but if I go on steak consuming rampage I’ll be blaming the great profession of writing. I cannot be expected to produce sublime creative work or even moderately entertaining creative work on a protein deficit.

And so, dear Stiletto followers, if you wish for a sneak peek of my paranormal adventure Tacoma series you may visit CityofDestinyStories.com. The first story, The Dragon Incident will be released next week and I will give a free copy to the person who submits the best meat free recipe between now and January fifteenth.  You may leave a recipe in the comments or email it to me at carriemae.agent@gmail.com! And please remember… I hate mushrooms.



5 comments:

  1. Bethany, good luck with the more vegetable thing. That is one resolution I won't be joining you on. :)

    A series of shorts sounds good. Best wishes with that!

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  2. Since I have been gaining and losing the same ten pounds for the last five years, I have resolved to stop dieting and to start focusing on eating healthier (more veggies!) and moving every day. Working great so far. Hit my FB page, Bethany, and you'll find a great recipe in the comments section of my last post for lentil soup. I made a big batch the other night and it's quite tasty. And no mushrooms! Keep us posted on how things are going, ok? Maggie

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  3. Bethany, the series of shorts stories sounds great. Good luck!

    Here's a fairly quick and easy recipe. Lentils, split peas, and pigeon peas are the fast food of the legume family and major standbys for quick vegetarian meals.

    Delicious Lentil Stew
    Yield: 8

    Ingredients:
    2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
    1 cup chopped onion
    6 cups water
    1 pound dry lentils - washed, soaking not necessary
    1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    1/2 teaspoon oregano
    1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    6 large each carrots cut into 1/2-inch pieces
    4 large each celery stalks
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 can (16 ounce) each whole tomatoes cut into pieces or 3-4 fresh tomatoes cut in wedges

    Instructions:
    1. Melt butter in a large skillet.
    2. Sauté onion until tender.
    3. Add water, lentils, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and garlic powder.
    4. Cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes.
    5. Add carrots, celery, and salt.
    6. Cover and simmer 30 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender.
    7. Add tomatoes. Heat thoroughly and serve.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds promising! I wonder if I could crock pot that? Hmm...

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